Page 111 of Juniper Unraveling

Once we pass the guard, I glance back to make sure none of the bikers follow and direct my attention toward the light ahead. We breach the end of the tunnel, and my muscles tighten, poised to run.

Outside, Red tips her head back and blows a kiss into the air. I follow the path of it to the man pacing along the rocks with his gun. Hawkeye. Rigs had said the man wouldn’t shoot anything with a patch, or a pussy, but I’ll wait until we’re out of sight, just in case he makes me an exception.

We follow a trail, all of us in single file, with Red bringing up the rear. Through the tall canyons, we reach an area of limestone flanked by stacks of shale. In the center of the path, embedded in the limestone, is a decent-sized pool of water—biggest I’ve ever seen in the mountains, about twenty feet across. Temporary, judging the lines and ridges in the rock.

I glance around, noticing we’re well out of Hawkeye’s sight, while the other girls gather at the edge of the tinaja.

A thump hits my shoulder, as Red comes to a stand beside me, and I look down to accept a canteen and a small clay object that looks like a shell filled with some kind of oil. “C’mon, princess. You can toilet there,” she says, pointing toward a path beyond the pool that’s lined with bushes. “When you’re done, grab some water to take back.”

Perfect.

“What’s this?” I lift the clay bowl, taking in the fragrant scent that fills my nose.

“Jojoba rose oil. Makes ya smell good.”

“Why would I want to smell good for any of you?”

She shrugs, stepping ahead of me. “Don’t use it. I couldn’t care less.”

I’ll grab the water first, then make a run for the mountains. The canteen should last me two days if I conserve it, and hopefully, I’ll find another water source.

As if she’s reading my mind, Red says, “There’s no other water for miles. Make sure you fill it to the brim.”

A threat that’d keep most from running, I suppose.

I’m not most.

Taking a seat beside a brunette, I dip my canteen in the water, watching the bubbles gather at the mouth of it.

“What happened to your arm?”

I lift my gaze just enough to see the brunette is staring down at my wrist and the obvious suicide scar there. “Fell on a knife.”

Her lips stretch to a smile, and she raises the canteen to her mouth for a sip. “Not gonna lie. I thought about it myself.” She nods toward a slightly younger girl with sandy brown hair across the pond, sliding down into the water in nothing but a bra and panties. “That’d leave my sister alone, though.”

Seconds tick as I finish filling the canteen and splash some water on my face. It’s not that I don’t care what the woman is telling me, I do, but my mind is calculating how far I can sprint down that path before Red takes the first shot from her pistol.

I cap the water and cross the strap over my head, readying myself for the dash of my life. “Yeah. Well, if you change your mind, it’s not worth it.”

With a chuckle, she drags a rag along her arms, slipping it beneath her shirt to her armpits. “I wouldn’t. Now that I’m pregnant.”

It’s then I look down to see the bulge sticking out from her tattered shirt—small with her skinny frame, but definitely there. Sick bastards probably impregnated her.

Click. Click. Click.

My muscles steel at the sound of growls in the distance. Approaching. Fast.

I snap my attention toward the oncoming Ragers, barreling toward us down the opposite path.

“Anna!” The woman beside me scrambles to her feet.

I jump to mine, backing slowly down the trail behind me.

Screams echo through the canyon, bouncing off the rock, as the women paddle for the edge of the tinaja.

Shots hit the air, and I turn to see Red charging forward, helping the women out of the pool, as she nails one of the Ragers square in the head with a bullet.

A Rager lifts Anna from the edge of the pool, dragging her away, while she kicks and screams.